Things Change
by SepticMind
Summary: "Beast Boy to Robin; I'm on my way. Over." Ever wonder what happened next? Follow the original team of superheroes as they deal with Jump City's newest threat and follow the ex-thief Jinx as she settles down into a life of heroism with the speedster Kid Flash. A tale jam packed with favourite heroes and villains, 'Things Changed' is what I think Season 6 should have looked liked.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: The Teen Titans belongs to DC Comics and Warner Brothers Entertainment. This is a work of fan fiction only, and completely non-profitable.

…

**Summary**: "Beast Boy to Robin; I'm on my way. Over."

Ever wonder what happened next? Follow the original team of superheroes as they deal with Jump City's newest threat and follow the ex-thief Jinx as she settles down into a life of heroism with the speedster Kid Flash. A tale jam packed with favourite heroes and villains, 'Things Changed' is what _I _think Season 6 should have looked liked.

…

**AN**: I don't know about you guys, but the only thing more upsetting than season four of Teen Titans is the episode "Things Change". The show left so much unanswered, and that really just isn't fair. So I decided to answer it for myself! I don't plan on this being a short story, and I've already got the 'sequel' planned, so I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wanted to keep this slightly closer to the style of the show than my usual stories, so we'll see how it goes :)

Thanks to **Espacole** for 'beta-ing' this for me!

**For those who haven't watched Teen Titans in a while, it might be a good idea to try and watch season 5 of the series before reading this, simply because it is a carry-on. If you don't want to watch the entire season some key episodes to this story are "Lightspeed", "Hide and Seek", and of course "Things Change". **

Sorry about having disappeared for so long. Juggling three jobs, a love life and a college course that won't leave me alone. Up until June when I finish updates really will be sparse.

(…)

_**Episode 'Things Change'**_

Terra hugged her book to her chest. "Things change, Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be…" she made herself turn to face him, "is just a memory."

The changeling didn't know what to say. It wasn't the reply he'd wanted to hear, but he couldn't exactly deny she was right either. He didn't need to find the words though as his communicator bleeped and he heard Robin's voice.

"Come in, Beast Boy!"

Flipping open his communicator he could see Robin, and in the background Raven, fighting the shape-shifting creature, it's skin a dangerous shade of red.

"We need your help!"

The screen turned to static before he could reply, and he looked up at the blonde in front of him. "Come with me."

She shook her head. "You go. You're the Teen Titan – it's who _you_ are. It's not me. I'm not a hero." She looked away from him again. "I'm not out to save the world. I'm just a girl with a geometry test next period and I haven't studied."

Beast Boy watched her back away as he bell rung and the halls slowly filled with students. He was reluctant to let her leave and torn between chasing her down and helping his teammates, though he didn't move and when he could no longer see her he spoke into his titan's communicator, hoping Robin could hear him.

"Beast Boy to Robin; I'm on my way. Over."

(….)

_**Now…**_

Robin dived to the side; a wave of scalding air telling him he'd only just missed the attack. Rolling to his feet the boy wonder threw several freeze disks at the monstrosity. Each weapon hit its target but didn't do any visible damage. As he was preparing himself for another attack his target was encased in a cold blanket of energy as black as tar, holding the creature in place. Robin's eyes found the empath.

"Where's Beast Boy?" Raven asked through gritted teeth as she creature fought against her.

"He said he was on his way," Robin answered.

Raven's shield started to glow red from the intense heat radiating off of the molten steel the creature was currently wearing, Starfire panicking slightly when she noticed, aware the dark energy was as much a part of Raven as her hands from her time wearing her friend's body. The alien took several steps towards Raven before she stopped, not sure how she could help.

"Raven your shield, it's-"

"I can handle the heat," She quickly told her teammate, "But it's strong. I won't be able to keep it still for much longer. Can someone figure out how we're going to keep it from changing shape before we lose it again?"

"Yeah well, does anyone any suggestions because I'm just as stumped on this one as you." Cyborg commented, joining Robin and Starfire as they watched the empath fight to keep the thing contained, unable to do anything else.

"We could find out exactly what it is," Robin said, before ordering, "Cyborg, run a scan."

"What?"

"Earlier Raven told us she couldn't sense it. It's either using magic to shield itself or it isn't alive and never has been," The leader of the group explained, and Cyborg looked to Raven for confirmation.

"Robin's right. Just, whatever you're doing, could you hurry it up?"

There was a pause as Cyborg stared at the creature, his robotic eye flashing with a red light before he nodded. "Alright. Whatever makes this thing tick, it isn't flesh. I say we-"

The empath's shields burst.

Raven was thrown back through the air as the dark energy recoiled back to its source, the titans forced to cover their faces as the burning wave of air reached them. Starfire was the first to recover – used to flying close to solar flares, her body built to endure the extreme conditions of space – and she bombarded the creature with a flurry of star-bolts, each bullet of energy sinking harmlessly into the orange and red mass.

Realising her attack wasn't having any effect she changed targets, aiming for the circular red eyes that had remained the same throughout all of its different forms. The star-bolt just missed its target, hitting slightly too low, and by the time the second bolt had reached the robot it had raised its arms to protect its eyes.

"It learns quickly!" Starfire observed.

"Like it needs any more of an advantage." Robin muttered, lowering his arm before throwing another freeze disk, the cocktail of chemicals doing no more damage than they had the first few times.

The attack grabbed the creature's attention though, the android turned its red eyes towards the boy wonder. Robin released two more disks before his target moved, heading towards him with frightening speed. Starfire screamed out a warning while Cyborg tried to take aim with his sonic cannon. He got off one shot and then Robin was too close for him to risk it – too close for them to do anything. The last few seconds seemed to stretch out into an eternity as Robin threw himself into a back flip, knowing he'd moved too slowly, his expression hardening as he waiting for the inferno to collide with him…

But it didn't.

He landed on his feet and straightened up, lifting his eyes off the ground to find a blue cloak two steps in front of him, the fiery android another three steps away. An acidic burning spell pierced the air. Confused and panicked, Robin ran to Raven's side, ignoring the intense heat as he discovered the empath had one arm buried elbow deep into the body of molten steel and the other lying flat against its chest for leverage as she pushed against it, sweat dripping down her brow.

"Get back!" She warned Robin irritably when she noticed him beside her, and when he didn't move a flash of black hit in, the force making him stumble back several steps.

For an instant a shield appeared against the creature's torso but it flickered out as the sleeve of her leotard caught fire, the fibres combusting not from the molten metal itself but the intense heat of the surrounding air. Doing her best to ignore the flames Raven got the shield back in place before she quickly removed her hands from the burning mass and patted out the fire eating at her arms, refusing to look at the damage. She couldn't feel her arms or the pain that should have been there and it worried her, but the threat of another attack worried her more. While Raven could still fight now, she feared the pain would kick in and she would crumble if she saw her arms.

Using the shield of dark energy she'd conjured, Raven managed to force the android back several steps before it retaliated, her eyes widening as it reached round the shield and extended its arms to grab her. She heard the sound of Cyborg's sonic cannon before she saw the blue beam, but something about it was different. Her eardrums hurt as though they were being stabbed by hundred of needles. Alarmed, Raven covered her ears with her hands, the feelings of agitation and shock she received from her teammates assuring her that she wasn't alone in her discomfort. The girl watched as the beam of blue energy found its target – the android's face – and the burning red of its skin flickered to show the smooth white it had been when they'd first encountered it, the force of the attack sending it stumbling away from Raven. Cyborg's attack stopped and for a second the thing just stood there, stunned, before it ran.

"Don't lose sight of it!" Robin yelled in alarm as they all ran after the robot, Raven quickly constructing several barricades, all of which it managed to avoid before it was out of the building and racing across the tarmac. It hit a brick wall of the neighbouring building and disappeared.

"Damn it!" Cyborg cursed. "We almost had it!"

"Please, Cyborg but what did you do to make that horrible noise?" Starfire asked as the group came to a stop.

"I reconfigured my sonic cannon in the hopes of taking out its electrical circuits, kind of like what Punk Rocket almost did to me that time."

"But everyone's okay?" Raven asked.

"We're not the ones who decided to arm wrestle with molten steel," Robin said in reply, walking over as the empath finally let herself look at her arms.

Cooling blobs of metal hung to her skin and as the adrenaline pumping through her body began to fade the pain hit her.

"It's nothing," She muttered as she brushed her hand down her arm in an attempt to remove the substance eating away at her flesh, the motion slightly too rigid.

"Yo! Hang on Rae; I know it hurts be we could use that!" The robotic teenager quickly stopped her, flinching away from the look the empath gave him before saying, "It could help us figure out what that thing's made of."

"Then hurry up and take a sample," Raven told him, her jaw clenched tight in pain.

"I can't touch it – it'll melt through me."

"Then tough luck." She wiped one of her arms clean before Cyborg could stop her, revealing a patchwork of pink and red skin, blisters having already formed and burst in some places.

Cyborg grabbed both her arms before she could wipe the other clean and Starfire and Robin both cringed, making more noise than Raven did as she tensed, silently watching Cyborg before carefully muttering, "_Ow_."

"If we know what it's made from, we can find a way to stop it next time it appears and possibly find the idiot who built it."

The empath's eyes were beginning to water, her cheeks wet. "Cyborg, let go of my arms."

Hesitantly – afraid Raven was going to ignore him – he did as she'd asked. The girl instantly recoiled away from her teammate as she struggled to keep on top of her pain, too proud and too worried about losing control of her powers to give in. "If this doesn't help us catch or destroy this thing next time we see it, I will personally give you an all-exclusive tour of hell. Are we clear?"

"I hate it when I can't tell if you're joking or not," Cyborg replied.

"Oh, I'm not joking."

"They we're clear as crystal."

Moving closer to his teammate, Robin carefully studied Raven's arms and what was left of her sleeves, the fabric burnt and smouldering where it hadn't melted all together. "You've never mentioned you're fire-proof."

She shrugged as she admitted, "I wasn't sure."

"You _what_?!" All three titans simultaneously exclaimed, horrified.

"Well, being able to hold your hand on a lit stove or in a fireplace isn't the same as submerging yourself in molten metal is it?"

"Idiot," Robin muttered, his brass tone making Raven smile for a moment.

"My 'idiocy' saved your life. There was more chance of me surviving it than you."

"I know."

"Now, can we return to the tower? You might not have noticed, but I'm still being eaten away at."

"And Beast Boy?" Starfire frowned. "He said he was one his way."

Robin's face darkened slightly and none of them envied Beast Boy and the talk they knew he was going to get. "He'll find us."

(…)

Raven had been sat in the infirmary for close to half an hour when Beast Boy finally arrived, checking the tower's personal micro-hospital after finding the rest of the tower was empty.

"What happened? Did we catch it? When I got to the recycling plant no one was-" Catching sight of Raven, one of her arms already treated and bandaged but the other on show he cut off, quickly asking, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"She was injured because you weren't there to help," Robin replied harshly from where he was sat on a free cot.

Raven frowned slightly as she considered disagreeing, unable to see how Beast Boy could have helped keep the android from melting their leader but decided to remain silent, no more happier than anyone else about the changeling's disappearing act.

"What?" Beast Boy asked, his ears flattening in distress, almost like a cat's.

Cyborg looked up from Raven's arm to scowl at Robin. "The thing mimicked _molten steel_. All of grass stain's forms would have had about as much fun approaching that thing as we would have."

"Wait? Molten steel?" Beast Boy asked, eyes going back to Raven's arm before he weakly joked, "You sure it wasn't molten tin? I mean it _was_ a recycling plant."

They all decided to ignore him and Cyborg answered the boy's original question. "Rae got herself elbow deep in the thing trying to keep it away from Robin. I doubt you could have made a difference, but you still should have been there, man."

While Beast Boy felt guilt, the news of how Raven had sustained her injuries took up most of his attention and he quickly moved over to his teammate's side, leaning around Cyborg to get a better look at the empath's arm. "Woah! You're melt-proof? How come you never mentioned it before?"

Raven sighed irritably, already fed up with people asking the same question. "After seeing what environment my Father thrives in, is it really all that surprising? Not that it means I plan on doing it again any time in this life."

"You shouldn't need to," Cyborg informed her as he applied a salve to the burnt flesh before dressing it with a bandage. "We've got a sample of whatever the android was made from and it should have cooled down enough for me to work on it. If we can figure out the components we can question local manufacturers and shippers and hopefully find an address to whoever created it."

"'Created it'?" Beast Boy butted in. "'Android'? You mean it's not a shape-shifter?"

"Oh it's a shape-shifter all right – a shape-shifting robot. Of the non-organic variety," Cyborg joked at his own expense. "It's pretty advance to be able to mimic substances so well. The good news is that it limits the number of possible suspects. The _bad_ news is that we're dealin' with someone who's very, _very_ good at their trade."

"A robot…" Beast Boy frowned, before jumping back and hastily exclaiming, "A robot! Slade! I saw Slade! Well, it wasn't Slade exactly but one of his robots. You know, the talking, ass kicking kind? He knows Terra's alive! I think he might try to go after her!"

"Slade?" Robin frowned. "Beast Boy, are you sure?"

"Positive! He said… well it doesn't matter what he said. It was at the old theme-park on the edge of town. The robot should still be there. I mean I totally trashed it – it's not like it could have crawled off."

"… Well, let's deal with one thing at a time," Robin said, unconvinced. "We need to figure out how to take down this shapeshifting robot first, _before_ it completely destroys the city."

"But Terra! If Slade gets hold of her again she-"

"I'll go with Beast Boy," Raven spoke up, interrupting her teammate's protests. "We'll look for this robot of Slade's, and while we're out I can take a look at Terra's tomb. I might be able to figure out what restored her."

"You shouldn't be going anywhere," Cyborg frowned. "You can withstand higher temperatures than the rest of us but that doesn't mean you weren't badly burnt. At the moment you really run the risk of gaining an infection." He crossed his arms in front of the metal plates that made up his chest, taking a stand. "If you were a human with burns like that you'd be in a burns unit looking at several weeks of bed-bound treatment. I'm declaring you off duty. I don't want you going anywhere until I've given you medical clearance."

Raven's anger rose swiftly, fuelled by irritation and pride. "For the hundredth time, I do not get infections. Treating me like a human patient is both pointless and ridiculous. I am not human, nor do I need to rely on my arms or hands to get things done, or had you forgotten my telekinesis?"

"You're _half_ human and I don't have training in the field of medical practice for demons, so it's the best you're going to get. Human or not you won't heal any faster if you don't rest."

"There is no medical practice for demons because _we don't need it_."

"Don't need it my ass – your lower arms are nothing but two open wounds!" Cyborg argued.

Aware he was one word away from two teammates going A.W.O.L Robin quickly stepped forward, raising his voice. "_Enough!_ We can't fight this robot when we're fighting each other. Cyborg, Raven's right – she isn't human and the only one qualified in dealing with her is herself, which means trusting her judgement-" seeing Cyborg was about of protest he quickly and loudly said, "_BUT_ as our head first-aider Cyborg has every right to declare any one of us unfit for duty, and as _leader of the team_ I agree with his decision." The empath adopted a look of contempt but Robin warned her against arguing with a glare. "Raven, until further notice you have been declared unfit for duty and will be stopped from responding to alerts." Raven's expression softened as Robin's use of words sank in and she smiled slightly. "Make sure Starfire goes with you. Cyborg and I will stay here and run tests on the sample. Call if you run into any trouble and disengage from any fight or I will consider it a direct breach of given orders, understood?"

Raven nodded, but Cyborg wasn't as happy and he tried to protest. "Robin, Rae really shouldn't be-"

"Enough. What Raven does with her down time is no concern of ours so long as it doesn't breach her orders." He looked at the empath. "Just be careful."

(…)

Beast Boy led the two girls through the rusted gates of the old theme park and up to the newer metal fence someone had erected to keep people out. He didn't bother trying to find a way through it, morphing into a small finch and flitting up and over, Raven and Starfire easily following.

"What were you even doing here?" Raven asked as she landed on the cracked concrete on the other side of the fence.

The changeling morphed back into his human form, landing on the ground in a crouch. "Terra brought me here once. It was one of her favourite places, so it just kinda made sense, you know?" He shrugged, before quietly telling them, "She said she doesn't remember any of it – Slade, the team, Titans Tower, or… How can you not remember something like that?"

"It would explain why she did not seek us out after awakening," Starfire pointed out softly. "Perhaps when she turned to stone her mind was damaged?"

"I doubt that," The empath shook her head. "It was her own power that entombed her in rock, and last I checked she wasn't psychic. Maybe she just saw the chance to like a normal life and took it?"

Raven's words reminded Beast Boy of what the Sladebot had said to him, and it's words rang though his head. _'Perhaps she doesn't want to remember you_.'

"That's not true!" He shouted, taking an aggressive step towards the young woman.

Raven frowned at him and, forgetting about her injuries stubbornly crossed her arms until the pain forced her to drop them by her sides again, a small wince tugging at the corner of her lips. "Has she told you otherwise?"

"She _told me_ she doesn't remember." He reminded her forcefully.

"I'm just trying to cover all the bases. I'm sorry Beast Boy, but it is possible she remembers it all and is trying to forget – and I don't blame her."

Beast Boy attempted to stare the woman down for a moment but it wasn't long before he dropped his gaze. It wasn't Raven he was angry with, and he couldn't pretend otherwise. "But why? She had friends; a home!"

"And she had guilt. A lot of it. She tried to kill us, and almost destroyed the city. Believe me when I say I know what that feels like. Yes, in the end she saved the city and redeemed herself but what seems like enough for someone else isn't always enough for yourself. I know I've had moments where I wish I could have traded everything for a chance to be someone else. If it's what she wants why should we try and stop her?"

The changeling's expression hardened again and he turned around and continued walking, muttering, "no one asked what you think."

Starfire looked at Raven and shrugged, her concern for Beast Boy easy to read in her large green eyes. They followed him towards the back of the park, having to climb over the remains of an old Ferris wheel as the boy led them to a specific spot.

Having definite memories of the large ride standing last time the team and driven past the old park Raven commented dryly, "When you said you 'totally trashed' the robot, you forgot to mention you also destroyed everything else in the process."

"I got angry," Beast Boy replied, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

Raven's mouth opened to respond, a snarky comment on the tip of her tongue, before she stopped herself. It wasn't often the green teen felt the true flames of rage, but when he did… "Did the Beast..?"

"No," he quickly shook his head, glancing back. "No, it was definitely a T-Rex."

"You are most fortunate that your opponent wasn't Slade at all, but a robot," Starfire commented as she studied the debris they carefully moved round. "Slade is most elusive and resilient but I doubt even he would have survived such an attack."

"If it _had_ been Slade, Beast Boy wouldn't have gotten the chance to ram him into the Ferris wheel at all," Raven pointed out before quickly adding, "Not that I'm doubting your fighting skills Beast Boy, Slade is just…"

"Slade?" He offered, managing a small smile. "Looking back I should have known it wasn't actually him. Ignoring the time you went badass on him under the library he's always managed to get away. If all five of us can't take him down together, I can't do it on my own. But I wasn't thinking." The changeling started to slow down as his green eyes searched the debris. "The robot should be here somewhere in the same outfit as Slade's."

The two girls joined him in searching the area, spreading out as they picked their way through the fallen scaffolding and broken support beams. Starfire searched round an old carriage, the metal mesh encasing the seats twisted and broken.

"I do not see anything," The alien spoke up, looking back at the changeling.

"It's here somewhere!" Beast Boy urged, Raven able to feel his mounting frustration and stress. "You have to believe me!"

Raven paused in her search as something caught her eye and moved forward, crouching down to remove a small scrap of black material from a piece of rebar it had gotten caught on.

"I do believe you," Raven told him, holding up the scrap of cloth for them both to see. "Someone cleaned up the mess, and I want to know who."

"You are certain there was just the one robot, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, worried.

"That I saw," The Tameranean's thought was infectious, and Beast Boy found he suddenly doubted himself. Would he have noticed any others?

"Well, it proves someone knew you were here," Raven muttered and seeing Beast Boy was about to protest continued, "We can't confirm it _was_ Slade, not just yet. He hasn't been near the city since the defeat of Trigon. Who knows who could have stumbled across one of his old hideouts? He probably had dozens we're unaware of filled with these robots."

"You mean it was some dude's idea of a practical joke?" Beast Boy asked sceptically, and Raven frowned at him. "Come on Rae, it was_ his_ voice! And who else would know what to say in order to get at me like that? It _was_ Slade, Raven. I know it was."

"Alright," She threw her bandaged hands up in defeat. "Fine. It was Slade. I'm not going to stand around arguing with you, just keep an open mind. Is there anything else we need to look at or can we move on?"

"Where did this robot come from?" Starfire quickly asked when she realised the empath wasn't going to.

Beast Boy shrugged. "I don't know. It appeared while I was in the house of mirrors. It could have been waiting in there for all I know."

"And the house if mirrors is?" Raven asked, looking around them.

"Over there," The changeling cringed, pointing towards a derelict building, the front wall a pile of rubble and the ceiling caved in.

"… Of course," she muttered, before shaking her head. "At least you saved the city half a job. Maybe they'll tear this down next, instead of another completely fine building."

"And that old creepy library of yours has been standing empty for how long?" Beast Boy pointed out.

"That's not the same. There are strong wards set up to protect the building. Unless the Church of Blood where involved in its destruction I doubt it'll ever get demolished."

"The who?"

"They are the order that worship Trigon the Terrible," Starfire answered, and Raven frowned at her.

"I wouldn't call them an order so much as a cult." Looking at Beast Boy, she asked, "When was the last time you visited Terra, ignoring yesterday?"

"Some time before we learnt about Trigon. I mean between dealing with Slade, building that room for you, helping the Doom Patrol and fighting the Brotherhood of Evil I didn't really have chance. Why?"

"You said she'd lost her memory – that she can't remember us, her powers, Slade… When we first met her, her control was unstable but that had been _years_ of work. If she's forgotten how to control her powers, I think we would have noticed."

"Maybe she doesn't have her powers anymore? Maybe they've become dormant or something?" Beast Boy pointed out.

"While I won't rule it out, I've never heard of it happening to someone before, not with someone as powerful as Terra."

"It does make sense, friend," Starfire added.

The changeling didn't reply as he considered that, years of trusting Raven's judgement telling him she was probably right with this too, but not wanting to believe it. He eventually shrugged.

"There's nothing else to see here."

"Then let's go to Terra's cave," Raven said. "With some luck I'll be able to determine what or who released her."

(…..)

The 'cave' Terra's stone body had resided in was, in fact, not a cave but the remains of one of Slade's many subterranean hideouts that had become encrusted with rock after the former Titan had accidently triggered an old volcano. The lava had killed their arch nemesis and destroyed the base but before it could reach the city Terra had solidified it, along with herself. Walking through the tunnel, the walls still retaining the shapes of the rolling, molten river Raven and Starfire both experienced a feeling of melancholy as they were forced to relive that horrifying experience. It wasn't a feeling shared by Beast Boy, who was almost bursting with excitement as he waited to round the corner than would reveal an empty space where Terra once stood and prove to his friends he hadn't been imagining it all.

Starfire was the first to round the bend, letting out a small squeal of surprise. She rushed forward as though Terra might be hidden behind some sort of veil and proximity would reveal her.

"See," Beast Boy grinned as the alien rushed back over to her friends, a smile of true joy on her face as she all but strangled the changeling with a hug.

"She is truly back!"

Raven frowned at the space the geomancer should have occupied before moving forward and kneeling in front of the plaque on the floor that read,

_TERRA._

_A TEEN TITAN. A FRIEND_

She brushed aside the skeletons of long dead flowers and touched her un-bandaged fingers to the smooth rock, hoping to feel the small sting of residue magic and feeling nothing.

Her frown deepened until it was almost a scowl. "It wasn't any of my spells, nor was it someone else's magic."

"Then what?" Starfire asked.

"Maybe the effects just wore off?" Beast Boy suggested.

Raven got to her feet, unconvinced. "Maybe."

"Does it really matter how she came back?" The changeling asked, and Raven shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps. I'll see if I can convince Robin into organising some sort of surveillance for Terra just in case Slade is interested in her, but also to give us a better idea on what we're dealing with. If she has lost her memory and her powers are still unstable she's a danger to the city – a danger we'd have to address."

"It's been three years and you still can't believe she's a good person?!"

Raven didn't raise her voice or scowl and she looked at the Beast Boy. "I don't have experience in training people, but our abilities being similar I'm sure my help would suffice to form the building blocks for her to work from."

"…I knew you were going to say that," Beast Boy muttered sheepishly.

"But how would we survey her?" Starfire asked as Raven rolled her eyes at her green teammate.

"One of us would have to watch her," Raven answered, turning to the alien. "We need to find her first, considering we don't have any idea on where in the city she's living."

"Murakami High School!" Beast Boy piped up. "She's attending the high school. I nominate myself; I can go there and keep an eye on her."

"We need your help to catch this robot," Raven frowned. "Robin and Cyborg are going to keep me from fighting until I've healed so I might as well put myself forward."

The shape shifter started to argue, before changing his mind and offering the empath a smile instead. "Thanks Rae."

"Don't mention it."

(….)

"I don't believe it!"

Cyborg looked away from the screen and rubbed his human eye before taking another look at the diagnosis he was reading, half convinced the time he'd spent looking at the computer had begun to addle his brain.

"What is it?" Robin asked, walking over.

"Seriously advanced tech, that's what. I mean, the amount of programming it must have taken to let it adapt and camouflage like it does and then to get them to all work together… Man, the sheer number there must be to even make up the head-"

"Cyborg," Robin interrupted impatiently, "That's great, but _what_ is it?"

"We're not dealing with just one robot," Cyborg told him, turning round to look at his leader. "We're dealing with thousands. Hundreds of thousands, on the nano-scale!"

"You mean the entire thing is made up of nano-bots?" Robin asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "Uh-huh. It explains how it was able to mimic water as well as it did, though, doesn't it? I'd hazard a guess that its eyes are the only thing bigger than a single cell. They never changed during any of its forms and when Starfire tried to attack its eyes it got real defensive. Somethin's telling me that's its main control point is – that's where I'd put it anyway."

"Main control point?"

"Programming that many robots individually isn't some fall feat and would probably crash most hard drives from all the memory-usage, so you send the instructions to a single device which in turn sends it out on a small range frequency to the nano-bots."

"So how do we take it out? By attacking its eyes?" Robin asked.

"That would be my first guess. If I could find out what frequency it's running on I could also try and disrupt it to shut it down but it won't be easy, and it would be dangerous. The _last _thing we need is that thing malfunctioning."

Robin nodded, before noting, "That kind of technology isn't cheap, and then looking at who has the know-how to build it… it narrows down our list of suspects, perhaps a little too much."

The common room doors slid open, the '_hiss_' of the air-locks attracting the boys attention and they both looked round to watch Raven enter the room, closely followed by Starfire and Beast Boy.

"Did you find anything?" Robin asked as they walked over.

Raven didn't reply, her expression stormy as she silently passed her leader the scrap of cloth she'd found at the amusement park. He studied it for a moment before looking up at her and Raven nodded, no words needed.

"Are you sure?" He asked, though he sounded resigned.

"The robot is gone. All of it apart from that. Someone cleaned up – someone who knew where it had been and didn't want anyone else finding it. Beast Boy's convinced it was Slade's voice he heard from the robot and I believe him."

"I'd really started to believe we'd seen the last of him," Robin admitted unhappily.

"And Terra?" Cyborg asked.

"Awake, though I can't tell you how. It wasn't magic, mine or anyone else's. A spell that powerful would have left its scars in the surrounding area. She could have been walking around for a _decade_ and there still would have been residue magic left to feel."

"Any ideas if her memory is intact?" Robin queried.

Starfire looked at raven and when she received a nod told Robin, "We believe that if she had lost her memory she would have too forgotten how to control her powers, and that we would have noticed."

The changeling didn't argue but Raven could feel his hostility, and keeping to her word told Robin, "It might be a good idea to survey Terra, just in case. If Slade is back and knows she's awake he could try and get revenge, or even attempt to use her again. _Or_, if she has lost her memory and her geokinetic abilities are still active she'll need training."

Robin's face quickly adopted a look of protest. "And who would you send to do that? We can't afford to spare anyone, not until we've dealt with this android."

"I would send myself. Until my arms have healed you and Cyborg will work to keep me from attending alerts and this is more productive than sitting around the tower."

The leader of the Titans didn't look happy, but he thought about it, which was always a good start. "And when you've healed?"

"A few days should be long enough for me to determine her condition, and if the android hasn't been caught – or destroyed – by that point, well, Terra is many things but incapable isn't one of them."

There was a moment of silence before he slowly nodded. "Alright, but only until your burns have healed. We need you fighting with us."

Beast Boy caught Raven's eye and offered her a smile of gratitude as he stepped closer to the computer and asked the two boys, "So did you find out what this thing's made of?"

"Nano-bots," Cyborg nodded. "Really advance nano-bots. We were talking about how to fight it and the suspect list just before you got back. Figuring out how to fight it is the easy bit. If the was designed using standard logic, it's 'eyes' are the part we want to target. We take them out, and it _should_ shut it down."

"That is easier said than done," Starfire frowned. "I attempted to attack its face and eyes with my starbolts during the last fight and it seemed to have no effect."

"Yeah, well theoretically all the nano-bots will be working on the same frequency so I'm gonna look at the possibility of disrupting that frequency – maybe with my sonic cannon if I can adjust the settings – and shut it down that way. It's just finding the right frequency that's the problem. It might just have to be a matter of trial and error."

"It's not the first time someone's played with nano-technology," Raven noted unhappily and Robin frowned at her. "I'm thinking during the first few months after we started as a team, only these nano-bots were implanted inside us."

A look of contempt crossed his face. "You think Slade is behind this too?"

"I think we'd be foolish to rule out the possibility."

"Makes sense," Cyborg shrugged. "We were away for quite a long time dealing with the Brotherhood of Evil. Maybe he thought he could set up shop while we were away."

"I am not convinced. Slade's creations and destruction usually have a purpose. What could he gain from this robot attacking as randomly as it has?" Starfire asked.

"I'm not sure, but if he is back, I'm more than willing to be he's involved," Robin replied.

"So you believe me then?" The changeling spoke up and the boy wonder nodded.

"Alright, so let's say he's involved. Did we ever learn if he built his own robots?" Cyborg asked. "Slade's an intelligent guy in that psychopathic kinda way, there's no doubting that, but nano-tech? That's a whole different league."

Robin frowned. "Where are you going with this?"

"Even if I can track the components used in these samples to Jump City it might not lead us to Slade. He's worked with people before, who's to say he wouldn't again. And if that happens we have no way of pinning this on him – no evidence he was involved."

"Not to burst anyone's bubble but what happens if this android was built outside the city limits?"

"Then we'd have a lot of ground to cover." Robin replied unhappily.

(…)

**AN:** All reviews are welcome (and wanted. Even the 'flames', though do try and keep them critical.) As usual they all will get a reply via PM, even if it's just a 'thanks'. Sorry about any typos. This has been sat on my computer for a while, and I wanted to get an update out to you guys more than I wanted to proof read it.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** I tried to stick to the feeling of the animation. I couldn't help it. Old habits die hard.

Hopefully all those who were signed in when they reviewed received a reply. It's nice to see so many familiar names even though I've been offline for so long, and kind of exciting to see some new ones. Now, if you see any random typos that don't make sense, blame my partner's dog (German Sheppard). He jumped on the bed (and my keyboard) while I was midway through editing this, and fucked quite a few things up.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

**Important! **

For those with short memories, remember season 5 takes place over the span of** one year, **episode Things Change being the end of that year (I'm quoting the titans when they're talking about how much in the city has changed and I think it's Cyborg who says "That's what happens when you go away for a year") **Just keep that in mind :)**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Jump City<strong>

The next week passed slowly for the Titans, and especially Raven, who quickly grew bored of babysitting the ex-Titan, Terra. Since losing the shape-shifting robot at the recycling plant they'd only encountered it once more. The thing had appeared and started to attack Robin and Beast Boy after the boys had gone back to the original sighting point, hoping to find a clue about it's origins. Without any advancements from Cyborg on the shipping of materials or the creation of a sonic device to disrupt it's processors the team minus Raven had assembled simply with the aim of keeping the robot away from civilians until they lost it.

They'd had one general alert for the H.I.V.E 5 in that time – hardly a threat without Jinx's presence to bring them together as a team, though how they'd managed to escape so soon after the Brotherhood ordeal was unknown and had gone onto the list of investigations waiting for Robin to get round to – and Raven hadn't seen anyone even attempt to follow Terra, who was so far unaware of the Titan watching over her almost every day.

It was with a sense of resignation that Raven made her way into the kitchen that morning, intent on having a mug of tea before she made her way to Murakami High School for another uneventful day.

The rest of the team were already in the common room, and Cyborg greeted her with a cheery, "Mornin' Rae," as she slid past him to the kettle.

"Morning," she replied, her voice lacking his enthusiasm.

"So, what's the plan now we're all here?" Cyborg asked Robin as he took two frying pans off the stove and carried them over to the table where the others were sat, sharing out sausages, bacon and eggs.

"You're going to keep at your research, and I'll be around to give you a hand with it today. The sooner we find a way to stop the android the better – even if that means we have to find the creator of the robot first and get him to talk." Robin told him, before looking at Starfire and Beast Boy. "We've wasted too many hours this week looking for it; we need to get back to focusing on the city for a while, so you two are going to head into town and talk to shop owners. A lot's changed while we've been away and we need to get an idea on how the crime-rates have changed and whether there's anyone new in town we should be aware of."

Everyone looked at Raven as she walked over with her mug and she droned, "I'll be hanging around the school, observing Terra. Again."

Reaching Raven, Cyborg offered her breakfast and she quickly shook her head, ignoring the frown she got from her teammate as Beast Boy spoke up, "So I've been thinking-

"Well _that's_ never a good sign," the empath quickly interjected and Beast Boy scowled at her before continuing.

"Cy's birthday is coming up."

"And I'll be turnin' 22, baby!" the young man grinned before teasing the changeling, "How does it feel to be the youngest member of the team?"

"I'm turning 20 this year," he defended himself before saying, "I _was_ going to suggest we throw a party or something, but if you don't want to…"

"What; no surprise party?" Raven asked, and Beast Boy grinned sheepishly.

"I learnt my lesson two years ago with you."

"We could invite all our new friends!" Starfire spoke up excitedly. "Titans East, Kole and G'nark, Kid Flash, Jinx, Hot Spot, Panther-"

"Yeah, yeah," Beast Boy quickly interrupted, well aware the alien would attempt to list every honorary titan. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"I'm game," Cyborg grinned and he, Beast Boy and Starfire all looked at Robin.

Seeing the frown on their leader's face the shape shifter quickly said, "Come on! It'll be fun _and_ a great chance to get to know our extended family better. We've still got a few weeks to plan it."

"And if we still haven't found the person who created the android? If the android's still active? We won't have time to party."

"Then we'll cancel it – they're all superheroes and fight bad guys, they'll understand."

"It _would_ be a good opportunity to get to know everyone without having a bad guy to worry about," Cyborg pointed out.

"…Alright," Robin eventually relented and Beast Boy and Cyborg high-fived in celebration. "But there's going to be a few ground rules."

Finishing her tea, Raven commented dryly, "Well, this has been fun but students will start arriving at the school within the next hour, so…"

She moved to stand but Cyborg stopped her. "Hands."

"Excuse me?"

"Let's have a look at your hands."

Raven sighed impatiently but held them over the table towards her team-mate. Some of the skin still looked sore, patches of flesh an angry shade of red, but the majority was healed, if somewhat callused by scars that would fade within the next few days.

"Flex your fingers," Cyborg told her, and happy that the scar tissue wasn't restricting her movement announced, "Congratulations. You're back on duty."

"I could have been back on duty three days ago," Raven scowled as she withdrew her hands.

(…..)

Raven arrived at the school before the first of the students and she carried out her daily routine of scoping the surrounding areas for anything that shouldn't be there before sitting on her favoured rooftop – a flat roof of an office block that gave her a good view of the school field and two of the three entrances into the school. It was half an hour before she saw the first student trudging along to the building and another half an hour before she sensed Terra – or the girl she had pinned to be the ex-Titan. The empath watched as she called out to a group of girls ahead of her and two of them hung back to wait.

"It probably sounds stupid but that's the one place I wish I could have gone."

Raven had initially jumped at the sound of Beast Boy's voice, her eyes whipping round to find him crouched down beside her. He was holding two polystyrene take-out cups and handed one to her.

"Earl Grey, no sugar, no milk and I got them to time how long they brewed it. Sorry I made you jump." He ran his free hand through his hair as he laughed nervously. "Kinda figured you'd have sensed me or something."

Not wanting to admit she'd been caught off guard Raven took a sip of the tea before saying, "Thanks."

"You would have had it sooner, but the café I usually go to is pretty limited and I know you prefer that so I had to circle round."

She didn't know how to reply so changed the subject, focusing instead on his earlier comment. "Where's the one place you wish you could have gone?"

"School. Its most people's worst nightmare, I know, but meeting people, making friends, having a stable routine and a normal life…" He looked at Raven and waggled his eyebrows. "Hanging out with hot chicks."

"You were normal, once. Didn't you go to school then?"

"I was seven or younger and I travelled Africa with my parents. I was homeschooled, sorta. I was homeschooled when I joined the Doom Patrol too."

"Oh. I didn't realise. I just sort of assumed otherwise." There was a moment of silence before Raven smiled, "You wouldn't last a week."

"Probably not," he agreed, grinning. "Early mornings, homework, _tests_… but it's the experience I want, not the A-grade."

"I suppose it would be… interesting. Below my level, but interesting."

"Alright, show-off. How's the tea?"

"Nice, thank you, though didn't Robin want you to-"

"Go question people about the crime rate? Yeah."

"So why are you here?" Raven asked.

"Hey – I've asked the dude at the café," Beast Boy defended himself before shrugging, "You didn't have to tell Robin you'd do this and I know you probably think there are better ways to waste your time, especially now you're back on duty, but you're still doing it and I appreciate that."

"You're… welcome," Raven replied slowly.

"I'm being serious."

"As am I. It's no big deal, Beast Boy. Really."

"It is to me," he told her and Raven nodded slightly before pointing to a group of three girls hanging around on the school field. "She's down there."

He followed her hand and watched the blonde for a moment, recognising her two companions as the girls he'd seen with her before. "No Slade?"

"I haven't sensed him or seen any evidence that he's been skulking around, here or on her route home, but it wouldn't make sense for him to approach her in such a public place."

Beast Boy nodded, watching the three girls disappear into the building. Raven felt his mood drop and looked at him.

"Something's troubling you."

"It's just… it's _her_. I know it is. But she won't admit it. I don't understand why not. I mean what's so hard about saying, 'you're right Beast Boy. You got me. I'm Terra, I just don't wanna be a Titan anymore'? I mean if she's still worried about her powers, you could teach her, right? I mean you are similar. Then she wouldn't have to be so afraid of them and what happened."

His ears had drooped with distress and Raven felt a similar feeling herself as she listened to her team-mate talk. "Beast Boy… you need to let her go. Terra isn't coming back." Raven regretted saying it the moment the words had left her mouth, their argument earlier that week still fresh in her mind and not fancying getting into another one, but she didn't take them back and when Beast Boy didn't argue back she told him gently, "Even if she was Terra at some point, even if she remembers it, that's not who she is now. People change. She's not the girl you remember and never will be."

They sat in silence for a minute, Raven watching the Titan's face or some kind of response as he stared straight ahead.

"Maybe," He quietly admitted. He looked at Raven, and the empath felt a pang of pain at how miserable he looked, finding herself wishing there was something she could do. "I should probably get moving before Robin notices my tracker's been still on the map."

Raven nodded. "Thanks again for the tea. It was very thoughtful of you."

Beast Boy grinned slightly. "You're welcome. What are you going to do? Sit up here for the next six hours until the end of school?"

"Unless there's an alert," she told him. "I'll meditate. Go on – I'll be fine."

"I'll bring you something for lunch," he told her, this time his smile genuine. He stood and looked over the edge of the roof then at the disposable cup in his hand and Raven sighed.

"Leave it with me. I'll be going down to street level soon to do another sweep soon anyway."

He quickly placed the cup next to Raven's. "Thanks Rae. I owe you one." Offering her a mock salute he dived off the edge of the roof, appearing again seconds later as a green Sparrow Hawk and circled the building before disappearing out of sight.

Raven turned her focus back onto the school, though she only got a few minutes of silence before her communicator bleeped at her. Expecting Robin, she unhooked it from her belt with a sigh, freezing when she saw the name 'MELVIN' flash across the screen.

She was quick to answer the call. "Melvin? Are you okay?"

Almost as soon as the words had left her lips Raven saw it wasn't the blonde child on the other screen but one of the monks who wore a smile as he told her, "the children are fine."

Raven felt herself relax slightly. "Can I help you with something, brother?"

"The orphanage the children belong to have been in contact with us in regards to the removal of the children from our care and back into their own."

"The Brotherhood of Evil are behind bars – there's no-one to hide them from now," Raven nodded.

"Not that they were well hidden to begin with. It _may_ have just been my aging mind acting up, but I do believe I remember a giant Gorilla breaking into the monastery," The monk smiled.

"At the time we didn't know they were tracking our communicators."

"Yes. Well, they were going to send one of their staff up to collect the children but my Brothers and I convinced them it would be much more convenient for them – and safer for the children – if they had a superhero escort. The children seem rather fond of you from the way they talk. We thought they would prefer it if you were to take them back to the orphanage."

A ghost of a smile crossed Raven's lips. "Very well. When are they needed back at the Orphanage?"

"A rough guide-line of next week was given. Shall I make the arrangements and contact you?"

The empath frowned slightly. If their current case was still ongoing convincing Robin to give her the time off wouldn't be easy. She asked herself if she was really that eager to see the kids and she was surprised to realise the answer was yes.

"Sure."

"Melvin, Timmy and Teether will be pleased," The robed man smiled, before adding, "one more thing. If they call you, it's a surprise."

Raven really smiled then, her voice light with humour as she told him, "my lips are sealed."

"Have a pleasant day, Raven."

"Yeah, you too."

She closed the device as the screen went black, in a better mood than when she'd started the day. Spending six hours watching the school no longer seemed so bad.

(….)

**Central City**

Jinx tapped her foot impatiently as Kid Flash moved from one spot to the next, a yellow and red blur inspecting the crime scene.

"Remind me why we're here?"

'Here' was a jewellery store in uptown Central City. A fairly empty jewellers, thanks to a recent robbery. Jinx wandered over to one of the undamaged cabinets and studied the goods inside. They weren't priced, but they didn't need to be – the hex caster new exactly how much she could get for them through her contacts or on the black market; a small fortune, even with the 'taxes' for people's silence and 'endangerment' deducted. It made her wonder exactly what the thief (or thieves) had taken from the other cabinets.

"The Flash's sources tell him this was the work of Captain Cold, but he's busy helping the Justice League with something else so he wanted me to look into it," the young speedster explained. Jinx felt a small, sudden breeze wash over her, and knew Kid Flash was stood directly behind her. "I know you like shiny things but keep your hands to yourself. They already know what's missing and they'll know if anything else walks out of the shop."

Jinx grinned as she turned to face him, hands raised in a mock surrender. "Are you trying to suggest _**I**_ would even _think_ of stealing something? I'm offended."

"No you're not."

The young woman shrugged as she let her hands drop to her hips. "Old habits die hard. Not that I'd go for anything in this cabinet. Way too obvious, what with it being one of few _not_ smashed. If you're just investigating why have you dragged me along?" She frowned, motioning towards the main entrance. "Outside's crawling with reporters, an' you know that makes me jumpy. It's bad enough having to be around the cops."

"I thought you might be able to help. How would you rob a place like this?"

Jinx did a double take. "Excuse me?"

"Come on – you led a team of villains for years – I know you know how to plan robberies. How would you rob this place?" Kid Flash asked again.

Jinx scowled at him, but realising he was serious sighed and studied the room, counting five security cameras. "So let me guess, they wiped the footage? Maybe even looped it?"

"Something like that."

"There's no guarantee they'd use my method."

"I know, but it's better than nothing."

"Robin would probably be able to figure it out blind-folded," Jinx teased, but nodded. Turning to face the cabinet behind her she checked the display for motion sensors, not surprised in the least when she found some rigged to detect movement within the glass casing. She moved to check all the doors leading into the building – and every other door – the keypad for the alarm and finally what ventilation there was before turning to the hero.

"Honestly? During the day. Security looks pretty advance, and the years have taught me not to trust Gizmo for anything. It'd be easier not having to worry about the security at all. Of course that means you'd want a substantial team, and that don't come cheap. No doubt this place had armed security, and then there's every member of staff working on the shop floor. So, you'd dress the part, enter the shop as they're opening or just before closing, wait for any civis to leave and work quick. You'd want someone on security while everyone else attacks those behind counters and desks first. Panic buttons are a real pain, and if someone presses it you can forget it. The windows are tinted so we're good there. Taking out the security would be tricky though. The glass in the doors are clear so someone on the street could see you if you're not careful. Once security's down you want to keep someone by the door as look out. Now _I_ would then grab the keys from a shop attendant, unlock the cabinets and grab the stuff, but I'm a woman. No doubt those accompanying your 'Captain Cold' were men, hence the broken cabinets. Grab the stuff you want, put it in a brief case or something – remember you'd be dressed real smart – then casually leave and let someone else find the mess."

"Hey! You don't know all men would have broken the cabinets," Kid Flash protested.

"Yes, I do. There's a reason why poison is deemed a woman's weapon. Men have a habit of being unnecessarily violent. It's called too much testosterone."

"Jericho isn't."

"…Exception accepted."

"Say that ten times faster." The speedster grinned, and Jinx frowned at him.

"So, did that help? Case solved?"

"For you – your idea kinda fit the report. It _was_ a daytime attack. And a civi found the mess. You know, most of the time I'm just happy you're one of the good guys now because you deserve better and I like your company, but sometimes it's just because I'm reminded you have the potential to be seriously devious. If you could pull off something like that, why hang around with those goons for all those years?"

"Maybe I just enjoy the simpler things in life. Or, maybe because there _is_ some honour among thieves. Those 'goons' were my family for over five years." Stepping up to him, she forcefully poked his chest, not at all intimidated by the height difference. "No one gets to insult them but me, got it?"

"Got it," he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

"_Hmph_. Why did you need me anyway? Couldn't the shop attendants have told you what happened?"

"Well, they're either dead or in critical care. In other words, none of our witnesses are talking."

"…Damn,"

"Yeah. They think one of them is gonna have to get his leg removed. Bad case of frostbite."

They moved towards the entrance as Jinx asked, "This Captain Cold a meta-human?"

"Nope. He uses cryo-technology, kinda like Mr Freeze. He's known to team up with a few others from time to time but I checked and they're still behind bars, so my guess it's just him and his gang."

"And you said Flash asked you to look into this?"

"Uhuh. Cold's kind of his… _archenemy_," The speedster grinned.

"He's not expecting you to fight him on your own, is he?"

"You actually sound concerned," he teased, and Jinx grabbed him arm, making him stand still.

"I'm being serious."

"I can handle him. I'm _Kid Flash_ – I'll throw him back behind bars before he even blinks."

"If you need help-"

"Yeah, about that…" He rubbed the back of his head, an awkward smile on your face. "I was given strict orders not to involve you. You're welcome, though."

The girl wasn't surprised. "The Flash?"

"And Batman. And Wonder Woman. And Martian Manhunter. Did I mention Zatanna? Not because they don't think you can change, just because we only got back from Paris like two weeks ago and that isn't exactly like-"

"You don't need to explain; I know why and more than expected it. So what happens when they find out you brought me here?"

"I get my butt kicked," He shrugged, "So thanks for the offer of help, but let's just leave it on this one. At least until after the court date."

"After the court date I'll be serving my sentence. The only reason I'm not in jail now is because I had twenty plus heroes arguing my case."

"I dunno; you might just scrape by with parole or a community service sentence."

She glared at him. "Don't joke like that. Do you even know how long my rep. sheet is?"

"Who says I'm joking?"

"You're a real idiot, you know that?"

The young man just grinned and continued walking, opening the door and holding it for her to pass through. "You want a lift back?"

"Walk back and get stared at by everyone I pass or lose my dignity and let you carry me?" They walked past the lingering cops and ducked under the yellow tape that kept the nosy civilians and press back, Jinx keeping to the right of Kid Flash to better hide herself from the reporters. "Thanks, but I'd rather walk."

"My place is three hours away, as the slowpoke walks. You don't even know your way round the city," Kid Flash pointed out, and the hex caster tapped the titan's communicator on her belt.

"This thing does have GPS, you know? Besides, it isn't like I have anything better to do."

"Actually, you do."

Jinx let out a noise of protest as the hero suddenly scooped her off of her feet and into his arms. She was torn between punching him and closing her eyes ready for the inevitable moment when he started running, and the latter won. Looking while he was channelling the speed force only made her nauseous, and she knew she couldn't see much but blurred colours anyway. She felt the wind tug at her hair and clothes as Kid Flash started running, only for them to come to a stop a few seconds later. They only reason it had taken _that_ long was due to Jinx's added weight and resistance. Jinx slowly opened her eyes, before shoving at the young man's shoulder.

"Put me down before I decide to hurt you!"

Her feet hit the ground, and for a moment it felt like she'd left her balance back at the jewellery store. Jinx did her best to ignore his stupid grin as she hung onto his shoulder while she regained her balance before stepping back and attempting to push her wind-whipped hair back into place.

"So, help yourself to food and all the rest, as usual, though don't eat too much because we've got a reservation at seven with that new Italian restaurant that opened up round the corner. Unless you have better things to do."

"Sounds like a date," Jinx smiled slightly, before shoving him with the hand still on his shoulder, "but you're still an idiot, and next time you do that you'll get a hex to the face, we clear?"

"Crystal. I gotta go see the Flash, but I'll be back soon." He leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "See you later, slowpoke."

She hadn't even had chance to blink before she found herself staring at the empty-side walk, and with a small smile she turned and headed into the building behind her. It was a small, two story house with one bathroom and two bedrooms – Kid Flash's, and the spare room that she was occupying.

Once in, she locked the front door before making her way upstairs towards 'her room'. It was barely bigger than a shoe box – hell, she'd been in bigger jail cells – with nothing more than a single bed and a small wardrobe, but she didn't need much space. Jinx knew exactly what was in the wardrobe but she still looked inside as though she'd find something other than the two pair of jeans and small selection of tops, something that would pass as 'date' clothing.

She stared at the practically empty rail for almost fifteen minute, getting no further than thinking '_I suppose I could wear the black jeans'_ before she gave up and moved to close the doors.

They were almost shut before Jinx noticed the piece of paper taped to the inside of one of them. She pulled that door open again and ripped the paper free with a frown, recognising the hasty handwriting almost instantly.

_Check the kitchen_

She didn't question it and scrunched up the sheet in the palm of her hand as she left her room and headed back downstairs. It was the single rose in a vase on the breakfast bar that caught her attention first. As she walked over, Jinx realised she still didn't know where he got them from. She found a folded sheet of paper under the vase and quickly removed it, reading;

_If you only found this because of the note upstairs, you're losing your touch, thief. I realised you probably don't have much choice on what to wear for tonight. Money's on the table – buy yourself something nice. I insist._

Jinx's eyes dropped to the counter top as she searched for the money, finding just over $40 – enough to buy a nice dress with, at least. She didn't take it though, carefully folding the note and putting it back on the breakfast bar as though it might explode. Wally West, aka Kid Flash, wasn't made of money. She knew that much. A full time student at the local university, his salary came from rewards from Central City's mayor for being Kid Flash and his work placement at the CCPD's mechanic department as part of his university course, and she realised for once she'd feel bad for taking the money.

She moved away from the breakfast bar and out into the hallway, sitting on the bottom steps of the staircase, her back to the wall and feet touching the bottom of the wooden banister as she rested her head in her hands. Jinx found herself asking, not for the first time, what she was doing there.

The hex caster wasn't sure how long she sat there, nor did she recall falling asleep, but the next thing she knew something heavy was on her shoulders, and she woke, startled, her arms automatically moving to protect herself. Her flailing made her slip off the step she was sat on, but before she could fall someone caught her weight.

"Woah; it's just me. Sorry – I didn't mean to startle you."

She looked round to find Kid Flash, in his uniform but with the hood pulled down to reveal his face and the scatter of freckles that marred the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones, giving him a youthful look. Jinx wouldn't have said he looked old enough to be studying at University.

Embarrassed, she pulled away from him and seated herself more securely on the steps behind her. "I must have dozed off. I've not been sleeping well."

"I know – I've heard you walking around at night."

"…Oh."

"I didn't want to move you and wake you up so-" He showed her the blanket he was holding in one hand. "It's not as warm here as Jump. Apparently I might as well have tried moving you."

"I'm a light sleeper. Most of the time. So, what did the Flash say?"

"You mean after the lecture for taking you to the crime scene?" He shrugged. "Not much."

"So why ask you to report back at all?" Jinx frowned.

"Because it's Captain Cold, and even though he's not my mentor anymore he still worries about me."

"He was the one who gave you the case," she pointed out.

"Doesn't mean he can't worry. So I noticed you didn't spend the money I left you," Wally said, changing the subject away from his mentor.

"You're already doing too much for me."

"It's the _least_ I can do. Its forty bucks – you could probably get more robbing a thrift store. If you don't feel like going out, all you needed to do was say so. I can cancel the reservation."

"I _want_ to go out," Jinx told him.

"Then-"

"I'm living in your home, eating your food and not giving you anything. Everything I have right now, you've paid for."

"You give me your charming company," Wally told her with a smile.

"What company? If I'm not sleeping, I'm in my room moping, or you're at class or work or saving someone's ass."

"You're a friend."

Jinx scowled. "How can you even say that? You don't know the first thing about me."

"Maybe, but I know you're a good person. You saved me from Madame Rouge."

"What if I only did it to prove a point? You don't know what I've done to survive, and now I know your name, where you work and study… I could destroy you so easily."

"I don't know what you've done to survive," the speedster agreed patiently, "A lot, judging from how you wake up with your fists swinging, but if you're not gonna take my $40 you're not going to destroy my life." Jinx glared at him, though her silence spoke the truth more than any words. "You're feeling guilty aren't you? About your old team?"

"They're on ice, if they haven't been transported and de-frosted already, and I helped put them there. Of course I'm feeling guilty. What kind of stupid question is that?"

Kid Flash crouched down until he was eye level with her. "They had every chance to pull out – to change their mind," he told her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "The choice was there, just like it was for you."

She knocked his hand away and quickly stood, defensive anger kicking in as he touched a nerve. "You don't know what choices I've had – what _they've _had."

"So, guess I'm cancelling the reservation?" The hero asked as Jinx headed upstairs. He hadn't expected an answer, never mind the one he got as she disappeared onto the first floor.

"No. We're going out."

(….)

Jump City

The school bells rang, signalling the end of the school day and Raven watched the masses of students slowly flood from the building, waiting for Terra.

Her route home from the school never changed. The girl would walk the ten minutes to the shopping mall, cut through and walk the next twenty minutes to the newest residential estate on the east side of the city. The house she lived in was a semi-detached terrace with a nice, landscaped lawn and more than once the empath had wondered how the girl had ended up there.

Raven kept a good distance of twenty feet or so, keeping to the sidewalk when it was crowded. After cutting through the shopping mall Raven took to the air, careful to stay far back, using the rooftops to nearby buildings to help hide her from street view.

When Terra left her normal route to walk down a cut-through between two houses that led to a small park Raven instantly became suspicious, closing the distance between them as she followed.

When she reached the green field the blonde girl came to a stop, looking incredibly impatient as she turned towards the cut-through.

"I know you're there."

Unable to sense anyone else Raven knew the girl was talking to her and after some hesitation she came into the blonde's view. "I'm impressed – most people don't notice me tailing them."

Terra's scowl just deepened. "So what? You're here to make sure I don't try to destroy the city again?" Her tone was harsh.

Raven landed on the grass a few feet away and replied calmly, "I'm here to make sure Slade doesn't try anything."

Terra's expression faltered. "He's dead. He fell into the lava. _No-one_ survives that."

"He had some help," Raven told her before accusing, "You've been telling Beast Boy you don't remember. That you're not Terra. Lying usually works best when you stick to one story."

Her scowl was back. "I'm not stupid. You're an empath – there'd be no point in lying to you. I just want Beast Boy to leave me alone. _For all of you to leave me alone_. I have a life now and I don't want anyone to mess it up for me."

"We won't," Raven told her, before adding sternly, "_if_ you tell Beast Boy the truth."

"Are you deaf? I said I want him to-"

"He's worried about you. He _thinks_ he's helping somehow. Tell him the truth and he'll get the message. After everything you put him through the least you can do is give him that."

It was a low blow, but justified, or so Raven felt. Terra didn't reply, not straight away. "I didn't want to hurt him. If I could convince him I was someone else…"

"He thinks you lost your memory. He needs to let go and move on but he can't do that if he thinks you can still be 'saved'. He needs closure. You're tearing him apart," Raven accused.

Able to feel Terra's feelings of guilt as the Titan's words sank in, Raven's expression softened slightly. The geomancer always seemed to have good intensions – and have a definite skill in getting it so wrong.

"I'll talk to him," she eventually told the young woman. "But you've got to stop following me."

"Slade really is back," Raven warned. "He might attempt to contact you, or worse. You beat him that day, and Slade's a sore loser."

She could tell the news made Terra uncomfortable but she just glared at Raven. "I'll deal with it. I don't need your help."

They stared at each other. Stalemate. Both wanted to leave the other's company, but they also wanted to make sure they'd gotten their point across.

"I'll stop following you after you've spoke with Beast Boy."

"_Before_," Terra tried to argue but she lost, looking away from the young woman's harsh gaze. "Fine. Just stay out of my way and stay out of my sight."

"Don't worry – I plan to."

(…)

"Maybe I should get in contact with Oracle?" Robin suggested as he watched the screen over Cyborg's shoulder.

"Who?"

"She helps Batman out from behind a computer. Her IT skills are legendary. She'd probably be able to-"

"I don't need no help!" Cyborg interrupted loudly. "I _am_ a god damn computer!"

"I was just suggesting," Robin replied.

"Yeah, well your suggestions aint helping."

"Alright. Shutting up." He took a step back, watching as Cyborg continued to type away at the keyboard.

After a moment the Titan spoke up. "So the good news is I've narrowed it down to four local addresses from shipment orders."

"And?"

Cyborg's single human eye narrowed as he quickly through the addresses displayed on the large screen. "Three on the outskirts of town and one in town. But look at this one – 3 Abbott Road."

"What about it?" Robin frowned.

"It's the street leading up to the old observatory. You know, Chang's old place?" Cyborg turned to look at his leader. "It might be worth a look."

"Professor Chang's still behind bars. Though I suppose that doesn't mean someone else can't be using the place."

"You want me to try and build this sonic resonator before we pay a visit? Just in case?"

Robin nodded. "In the mean time Raven and I will scout the area tonight, see if there are any signs of activity."

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg smiled as the common room doors opened and Beast Boy and Starfire walked in.

"How did it go?" Robin asked them, looking round.

"We were sure to be most thorough," Starfire told him as she floated over. "We covered every business in the main areas of the city and a few smaller ones."

"How's it looking?"

"Reasonable. There seems to have been a rise in gang crime and the appearance of a few minor thieves. No one has seen any new meta human or 'super villains'. Oh, and it would appear that no-one had seen this shape-shifting android before we first did."

"Beast Boy?" Robin asked.

"Pretty much the same. People said it's been quiet, but then most of our bad guys went to Paris with the Brotherhood and the majority are still behind bars."

"For now," Robin nodded. "Thanks guys. File some paperwork then take some time out."

The two titans nodded and slowly made their way back out the common room. Robin turned back to Cyborg.

"Jot down the addresses for me."

"Will do. What time you planning to leave for your recon session?"

"We'll probably leave here about eight – give the sky chance to darken."

"It's five now – I'll put dinner on in a minute. You want to call Rae and see where she is?"

"I'll call her from the computer in a minute," Robin nodded.

"No you won't." Raven's voice said from across the room and both boys jumped, spinning round to face the kitchen.

The empath jerked open one of the cabinets and grabbed hold of a mug that she all but slammed onto the counter top.

"I _hate_ it when you do that," Cyborg scowled. "How long you been stood there?"

"Only a few seconds," she replied gruffly.

"You're later than usual," Robin noted. "Everything okay?"

She turned the kettle on before facing her teammates. "I was confronted."

"By Slade?" Cyborg asked, alarmed.

"No. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest Slade is following her. No. I…" She paused. She wanted Terra to talk to the changeling before anyone else, and if she told the rest of them the blonde school girl really was Terra one of them was bound to tell Beast Boy. "It doesn't matter. It's not important. Have you managed to single out any addresses to check from material orders?"

"Four," Cyborg nodded, not even attempting to argue against Raven's change of subject. "One of which stood out in particular."

"You and I will be going there to check it out after dinner, if you feel up to it."

"I feel up to it," Raven told Robin with a nod. "Where exactly are we going?"

"3 Abbott Road, then to Professor Chang's old hideout," Robin told her.

"The observatory?" she asked with a frown. "What makes you think that place is involved?"

"Abbott Road leads right to it," Cyborg told her "And there aint much else out that way – an old farm hour and a few homes owned by the richer population of the city. Kind of an odd play for a shipment of materials all used for the creation of nano-technology."

"I'll get changed back into my uniform then," Raven muttered just as the kettle finished boiling and she quickly made her drink."

(…..)

Central City

"So… this totally isn't awkward," Wally grinned as he studied Jinx across the two-seater table.

Despite having only just opened, the Italian restaurant was full and Kid Flash was glad he'd had the foresight to book a table.

"I told you that you had no right to call me a friend – friends would have something to talk about," the hex caster smiled in response.

"You saved my ass from Madam Rouge and I'm saving yours from the streets. What else would you call us?"

Jinx's face pulled down into a soft frown as she thought about that, eventually laughing, "Stupid. I'd call us stupid."

"Hey! I consider myself to be very intelligent."

"_Sure_. That's why you fell for my 'pretty damsel' routine, let me knock you out with a yellow hazard sign AND trap you in a level 4 containment field."

"What can I say – I wanted to help you out. Can't a guy be optimistic?"

"Optimism has nothing to do with it," Jinx disagreed. "You put your trust in a bad guy. You should never do that. It's like rule number one."

"Okay, I'll admit it; it was kind of stupid. But you don't know until you try and I think it turned out alright. So why are you stupid?"

"Because I'm allowing myself to be seen in public with you," Jinx teased before answering honestly, "Because I let your dumb ideas go to my head. Because I thought you cared and because I betrayed my team-mates for an ideal reality – as fictional as it may be – and someone I don't know. Because I can't believe I hurt them like that and because in a month's time I will be voluntarily walking into court to get my prison time. Because next time I see my former group, be it in prison or out of it, they will be hell bent on revenge and I'm not sure I'll be able to deal with that."

"I _do_ care," the speedster told her and they both frowned as the waiter appeared, putting their drinks down on the table. Wally waited for him to walk off before continuing, "Besides, your sentence might not even be that bad. You did help us defeat the Brotherhood of Evil after all."

Jinx scowled at him. "Have you seen how many offences I have? One good thing doesn't make up for all that shit."

"I'm just saying, it might not be too bad."

"And I'm just saying _don't_. My impending imprisonment doesn't count as acceptable dinner talk."

Kid Flash frowned before saying, "Alright then. You wanted to know me better – or thought I should know you better. I suppose you're right. I mean, I don't even know your name."

"Oh, great. People failed to mention you have amnesia."

"Ha, ha. I don't mean 'Jinx', I mean your actual name. Like the one your parents gave you?"

"That's strictly need to know. If I told you I'd have to kill you," Jinx grinned, and Wally shook his head.

"Coming from a good guy that sounds badass. Coming from a villain it just sounds like an actual threat."

"Maybe because it is. My given name isn't important and I haven't used it in over a decade." Jinx scowled before adding, "Man that makes me sound old."

"No name then. How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"And your birthday?"

"4th February."

"I was kind of expecting you to say that was classified too," Wally smiled.

"Nope. You can know that."

"I would help me narrow it down on a data-base," the speedster told her.

Jinx leaned back in her chair, the picture of relaxed. "Good luck with that one."

"You're a recognised criminal with a record and this won't be your first time in jail. You'll be on the system."

"I'm also a Jane Doe. All my files are under 'Jinx'."

Wally was surprised. "You're off the grid? Even after all these years?"

"Dye my hair, wear contacts – people would never know."

"So why haven't you?"

The hex caster shrugged. "Why should I? I'm not ashamed of who I am, and a life in hiding really isn't my kinda gig. Besides, I like my hair pink."

"So I take it pink is your favourite colour?" He asked.

"Nope."

"Purple?"

"Try again."

"Black?"

"Why does everyone assume I like black?" Jinx did her best to sound exasperated.

"…Green?" He asked and when Jinx shook her head he threw his hands up in defeat. "You win. I give up.

"Two colours. Well, a colour and a shade," She told him. "Silver – or light greys – and ochre yellow."

"_What_ yellow?"

"It's a paint colour dumbass. It's a very warm, rich shade of yellow. Not that you'd catch me dead wearing it – would clash with my hair."

"A lot of colours probably clash with your hair," Wally pointed out, and she grinned.

"True."

"Alright then – what's mine?"

Jinx smiled and answered confidently, "Blue."

"Wha… _How_?"

"Your room is painted blue, and it's the only room you've decorated decently going from the condition of the paint and furniture so I figured…"

He scowled at her. "I don't remember showing you my room."

"You didn't. I showed myself. Thief, remember? Being nosey is part of the job description. Besides, you leave me there for hours every day; what else am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know – get a hobby?"

"I have hobbies," Jinx grinned. "They're just illegal."

"So, drawing unicorns is illegal now?" Wally teased and Jinx's face turned red with embarrassment.

"Stuff you."

"They were pretty good. You ever thought about trying to sell your art?"

"Sure, make fun."

"I'm not," He told her sincerely.

"Yeah well regardless, I don't have any of my materials and now I'm playing on the right side of the law that stuff's expensive."

"You know it you want anything all you have to do is ask. I can run in and out of there without anyone noticing."

"Nah, it's cool – not the first time I've up and left everything. I'm used to it. Besides, you're doing enough for me already and it's not like I can take it in jail with me."

"You've done a lot of running, huh?" Wally asked gently and the hex caster shrugged.

"I'm good at it. Now stop getting all serious on me. I came out to have a good time, not to mope. I can do that back at yours."

(…)

Jump City

Robin cut the lights and engine of the R-Cycle as they got closer to their target, letting them drift forward until it stopped. A disgruntled demon halfling climbed down from the back and watched her leader follow suit, pushing it off the road before pulling down the stand.

"I still think we should have come my way," Raven told her leader quietly as he removed his helmet and hung it on the bike's handles.

"You didn't know the exact location. We could have ended up miles away," Robin replied and she shrugged.

"Still better than the motorcycle."

Robin decided to ignore her as he pointed up the road and across a bit of field to the shadow of a house. "There's our address."

"No lights on," Raven noted. "Nobody home?"

"There's only one way to find out. We'll need to do a quick scout around the outside of the building. If it's empty we'll have a look inside."

Raven arched her brow at her leader. "You have a warrant?"

"You want them to realise we're on their trail?"

"That's illegal."

"Well done. You know the law. We do a lot of things we're not supposed to, strictly speaking. It's one of the advantages of _not_ being part of the police department. An advantage I think they sometimes rely on."

Raven shrugged as she started moving towards the building. "Whatever you say, leader."

"Let me know if you sense anyone," Robin instructed.

She didn't reply. She couldn't feel anything but the warm energy of Robin walking beside her and she didn't expect they'd find anyone either. At least not at the address. Something about the entire case felt incredibly off to Raven.

"Doctor Light, Red X and Slade. They're the only criminals with recent activity in the city. I hate to say it, but this robot? Maybe you're right. Slade _does_ fit the bill."

Robin didn't reply, instead asking, "What happened with Terra today?"

"You mean besides me sitting for hours on end waiting for school to finish?"

"It was pretty obvious you were angry. It's _always_ easy to tell when you're angry."

The empath shrugged. "I get it from my father's side."

"So, what happened? Who confronted you if not Slade."

She didn't answer Robin straight away, not sure if she wanted to. "This has to stay between us."

"I can keep a secret," He told her.

"I know. Terra. Terra confronted me."

Robin stopped walking and Raven was forced to copy him. "What do you mean she confronted you? She attacked you?"

"No. Apparently she became aware of me following her and let me know."

"So, does she remember?" Robin asked, going straight to the point.

"She does. And we've… spoken about it. I want this kept between us because I believe Beast Boy has the right to hear it from her first. I've told her that if she tells him I'll stop following her. I believe it might give him some closure. I've told her that it's possible Slade is around and might show interest in her but she doesn't want our help."

"She say why?"

"She wants a normal life. I'd figured as much, and I don't blame her. If she wants to be left alone I say we respect her wishes."

"You don't think she could be a danger?"

Raven's brow arched, unimpressed. "Certainly no more than me. Would you have the team follow me if I decided to go my separate way?" She didn't wait for him to reply. "There is the slight concern about her powers – I doubt her time in stone has given her any more control over them, but her intentions are good."

"Then we'll leave her."

Raven nodded slightly before asking, "So what exactly are we expecting to find here?"

"Shipment orders, evidence that it's being used as some sort of storage facility, anything that will tie in who's behind this."

They weren't far from the building now, and with a small smile Robin motioned for Raven to make her way round the back of the building before he moved away from her and towards the road. She didn't need to ask what he needed her to do. Raven started moving towards the back of the house, levitating level to the roof to put her above any security cameras that might have been installed. She didn't find any, and Robin confirmed the same they regrouped.

"It doesn't even look like they have any alarms connected."

"Probably because the house is empty," Raven told him dryly. "At least it'll make this easy. Ready to look inside?"

"Take us in," Robin nodded, and the empath stood closer to him, engulfing her leader in black shadows before letting them shroud herself, the mass disappearing into the ground.

When the cold shroud released him, Robin found himself staring at grimy walls, damp eating away at the lick of dull green paint that covered them.

"Called it," Raven muttered, unsmiling as she looked around the room they were in. "I doubt anyone's ever lived in here."

"They don't need to live here to use it for deliveries or storage," Robin argued. "We'll check out the rest of the building before we call judgement."

"These houses must have been pretty pricy when they went on the market. Out of the city, plenty of land. Hard to imagine this one doesn't have an owner," Raven mused as she followed Robin out of the room.

"Maybe it's something to look up when we get back. If someone does have the deed, we can get in contact with them, see what the deal is with this place."

"No point if we don't find anything."

The room they'd entered was as bland and empty as the last. The hallway, three more doors lead off from the walls and a bare staircase to the top floor. Robin moved straight over to the front door, studying the wooden boards on the floor for scuff marks or footprints – anything to show people had been using the place.

"Floor's spotless," the young man said, looking back at her.

"Who's been cleaning? Ghosts?"

"Exactly. The last room was covered in dust – this one should be too. We'll check the rest of the house but I doubt we'll find anything, then we'll get back and see if Cyborg can find the deed for the place."

(…)

Central City

"Thanks," Jinx said as they both stopped on the landing outside the door of 'her' room. "Dinner was nice. Guess I kind of needed to get out of the house for a while."

"You're welcome," Wally smiled before offering awkwardly, "See you tomorrow?"

"What? No kiss goodnight?" She teased, and the young man blushed slightly.

He hesitated slightly before starting to lean forward, aiming for her cheek, unprepared for the ex-thief to turn her head at the last minute. Wally didn't know how to react and stood there awkwardly for a moment before quickly responding and pulling back, doing a really bad job at hiding the grin slowly tugging at his lips.

She reached back for the door handle as she smiled at him. "Night, Wally."

"'Night."

She stepped back into her room and closed the door, her smile only lasting a few seconds as she turned round and reality set back in. She had a court date coming up. Within the next few weeks she'd be a prisoner of the state of California if the judge didn't decide to ship her off to Arkham. It used to be a containment facility for the dangerous mentally ill. Supposedly it still was, but some people thought anyone that hurt a man and had meta abilities was a psycho.

In all her years of breaking the law, it was time for her to accept she wasn't dodging the consequences this time. Through her own choice, maybe, but the reality of what she'd decided to do was still hovering at the back of her mind like fog, like if she forgot about it, it wouldn't exist.

(…)

One Year Earlier

Jinx no longer knew what city she was in; they'd all started to look the same by the end of the second week, and she supposed it didn't really matter so long as it wasn't Jump City. Since she'd stood up to Madame Rouge and released Kid Flash from the level four containment field Jinx had gotten Gizmo to build, she'd felt a strange sort of restlessness and a need to reflect on what the speedster had said. She couldn't do that in the city without her team getting in the way.

Travelling had been the easy bit, hitch hiking when she hadn't sneaked into the back of someone's truck. Feeding herself on the other hand wasn't as easy, so Jinx hadn't managed to stop stealing, even if she'd reduced herself to the simple but artful ways of picking pockets and shop lifting. While she'd left the H.I.V.E Five with a positive mind set, determined that even she - the Mistress of bad luck - could change, the nights of sleeping rough and going hungry were beginning to wear down on her mind and make room for old doubts to resurface.

What had Kid Flash even meant when he'd told her she was 'better than this'? Life had never gone her way or given her a break before, why should it start now? And the question that both angered Jinx and ate her up inside; had she left the best thing she'd ever had – and ever would have – on a whim and a few words from a boy? What in Vishnu's name had she been trying to prove?

Recognising she wasn't going to get the answer to those questions that night, she settled down into the first suitable doorway she came across, the deep alcove protecting Jinx from the worst of the bitter wind that chilled her even through the thick jacket she'd found during her travels, carelessly left over the back of a chair in a bus station. Her knees tucked up to her chest she drew the jacket closer around her and rested her head against the brickwork at her back.

Despite how tired the thief felt, weak from malnourishment and lack of sleep, the girl's paranoia – or 'survival instincts' as she preferred to call it – kept her from falling asleep, her body jerking her into a state of alertness every time she drifted off. Instead Jinx studied the building opposite. A hardware store of some sort, her eyes moved from the door to the posters on the windows, squinting to read them in the poor streetlight in the hopes of straining her eyes into closing themselves.

It wasn't until she'd almost found sleep that she realised the shop's door handle had been hanging funny.

Sleep became a distant dream as adrenaline flooded through the thief's body and she jumped to her feet, quietly crossing the dark road in order to get a better look. Whoever had broken into the store hadn't had much luck with lock picking, or hadn't even tried. It looked like Mammoth had tried to open the door during one of his foul moods and had accidently broken the handle, the wood warped around it and the metal base bent away from the door completely at the top, the tips of twisted screws hanging on to air.

She pressed her ear to the gap between the door and its frame and listened, hearing the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Her first instinct was to forget she'd seen anything and move on – it wasn't her turf – but something told her that wasn't the 'better' Kid Flash had been talking about. Her next thought was to call the cops but she'd gotten rid of her H.I.V.E communicator a while back and didn't have a phone, stolen or otherwise.

Jinx moved away from the door as she tried to decide what to do. The thief in the shop made up the girl's mind for her. The door swung open and a man stepped out, a ski-mask covering his face. Despite the cold weather he was dressed in nothing more than a tank-top and jeans, showing off arms as thick as tree trunks. Mammoth still made him look small. At first the man did nothing but stare at the meta human in shock, but then he dropped the burlap sack he'd been holding and reached down to his waistband and Jinx didn't have to think twice about releasing a hex-bolt.

The pink energy hit the centre of the man's chest, the force of the blast knocking him off his feet and sending him flying backwards. He almost cleared the doorway back into the shop, '_almost_' being the key word. His legs caught the frame and there was a sickening '_snap'_ and a horrible wail of pain that Jinx never wanted to hear again. She did her best to push her feelings of guilt to the back of her mind as she ran up to the man and took the gun he'd had tucked into the waistband of his jeans. The burglar was in too much pain to protest, quietly moaning in agony as he studied his leg. Jinx let her eyes wander to the red mess and at first didn't comprehend what she was seeing until she realised the white she was looking at was bone, his femur having splintered and torn through his flesh. She would have apologised had his shout not gained attention, but the sounds of swearing as someone else moved towards the door were more important to her in that moment.

Directing her hex energy through the hand holding the gun she slowly released it, the pink sparks absorbing into the cool metal of the weapon and breaking it into several pieces which Jinx dropped as she scooted back away from the door.

Two more men left the shop, both of them with their guns already drawn, and glanced at their fallen comrade before turning their attention onto the ex-leader of the H.I.V.E Five. Unlike her fights with the Teen Titans there was no witty repertoire of jibes or words of assumed victory as they aimed their guns. A dozen different courses of action flashed through her head but before she could release another hex bolt or dive into an evasive cartwheel a familiar red and yellow blur shot past them and the two thieves were suddenly staring down at their empty hands. Another blur and they were both on their asses, handcuffed and dazed. Jinx adopted her best unimpressed stance as Kid Flash 'appeared' next to the thieves, her brow raised and a hand on one bony hip.

The young hero smiled at her. "Thought you could use an extra hand."

"I was dealing with it just fine on my own," Jinx quickly scowled in reply. The thief hadn't seen anything of him since leaving Jump, and while she was secretly somewhat pleased to see him she didn't let it show.

"A simple 'thanks' would have been nice…"

"Well I didn't need your help. I can handle myself – and anything else thrown my way – just fine on my own, _thanks_. Why are you even here? Don't you know what happened to the last person who stalked me?"

"I was just making sure you weren't in any trouble," The speedster raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "When I heard you'd left the H.I.V.E Five I thought the Brotherhood of Evil might have decided to target you too. If it's any consolation, you're a hard girl to find, my timing just happens to be excellent."

Catching one of the thieves attempting to stand, Jinx threw a small hex bolt his way, cracking the pavement beneath him and making him face plant as he tripped, the man releasing a muffled noise of pain.

"I can handle Rouge – anyone else that stupid Brain sends at me."

"I know, you saved me remember?" The girl didn't reply, so the speedster continued, "I thought we made a pretty good team, even if you are a slowpoke."

"What did you just call me?" Jinx asked before she quickly released a hex bolt, planning to show him just how quick she could be, but he was gone before the pink energy could hit him and she was left staring at the space where he'd been stood.

"Nice try." His voice came from right behind Jinx, startling her.

She spun round to face Kid Flash and found him holding a red rose that he offered her.

"For you," He said, and when Jinx didn't move to take it, scowling at him instead, he pushed it into her hand. "So I've alerted the cops and they're on their way here to take care of those guys," He pointed over his shoulder at the robbers. "Once they're taken care of how 'bout you come back to mine? You can grab a shower 'cause you kind of need it, and I bet a meal wouldn't go amiss."

Jinx felt insulted, hungry and suspicious all at once. She couldn't do anything to stop her stomach rumbling at the mention of food, but she could control her tongue and after a quick decision on which feeling she should address Jinx told him, "Sorry, Mom warned me against following strange boys home."

"Even one of the good boys?"

"Well, _someone_ has a large ego," She replied, unable to hide her smile as the hero's cheeks turned as red as his hair and he stumbled over his words.

"T-that's not… I mean…"

"Relax," Jinx smirked, "I'm just messin' with you." The smile slipped from her face as her eyes dropped to the rose in her hand before she glanced back at the thieves, still able to hear the quiet moans of the man with the shattered leg. "Thanks, really, but maybe when I can stop tearing people to shreds. I'm not sure I'd be able to qualify as one of the good guys right now."

"You don't have to do it alone, you know."

"I do."

The boy frowned at his shoes, before looking up at her and offering, "Well, right now if things continue the way they are with the Brotherhood it looks like there's gonna be a big show down. You up for it?"

She looked back at him and nodded, a strange smile crossing her lips. "It's a date." Jinx walked up to the speedster and went on her tiptoes, planting a quick kiss on the boy's cheek before she turned to walk off, the rose still clutched in her hand. "See you around, Kid Flash."

The hero watched her leave, a stupid grin on his face, until one of the thieves spoke up angrily, "Jim's bleedin' to death over 'ere! You getting 'im to a hospital or what? What kind of fucked up heroes are you?"

"The kind really hoping for a fight with the Brotherhood." He replied as he skipped towards the man with the broken leg, asking cheerily, "Come on, what do you think the chances of Boy Wonder calling an all out war are?" Getting a proper look at the injury he whistled, "Wow. She really pulled a number on you, huh?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>A stroke of bad luck should be my next update, but I've been given quite a bit of work over the Christmas period from college, so I apologise if it takes a while. Thanks for reading!


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